- The witching hour is believed to be the time when supernatural events are most likely to occur, and witches, demons, fairies, and ghosts are the most powerful.
- In folklore, the veil between life and death grows thin during the witching hour, allowing the dead to affect the living.
- The witching hour is most commonly thought to take place between 3 AM and 4 AM (according to Western Christianity) though some believe it happens at midnight.
Witching Hour Definition
The witching hour is thought to be when most supernatural events occur. The exact time of the witching hour changes depending on culture and geography, but it’s generally a period of time overnight (after midnight) associated with the supernatural. Witches, demons, fairies, and ghosts are said to be at their most powerful—and active—during the witching hour. In folklore, the witching hour is sometimes referred to as “the devil’s hour.” Supernatural activity is thought to increase during the witching hour because the lines separating the living and dead become blurred, allowing the living to sense the dead (and the dead to interfere with the living). Over the years, the witching hour has also come to refer to a time of unpredictable or volatile activity.
When is the witching hour?
The witching hour is commonly thought to be between 3 AM and 4 AM. Though a few different times are associated with the witching hour (all at night), this is the hour you’ll likely see most often defined as “the witching hour.” That’s because Western Christianity used to equate 3 AM with being “the devil’s hour,” leading to more superstitions about the hour of 3 AM to 4 AM. Even if you aren’t Christian, 3 AM is the time you’ll most often hear associated with the witching hour—though accounts can certainly differ.
The witching hour may also occur at midnight or from dusk until dawn. In other traditions, the witching hour may not happen strictly at 3 AM. Midnight is another common “witching hour” in folklore throughout the ages, so some believe the true witching hour is between 12 AM and 1 AM. Beyond that, others believe that the witching hour lasts all night, from sunset until sunrise the next day. The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary lists midnight as the time when witches are thought to be most active, for example. The name “the witching hour” originated from the belief that witches cast spells only in the dead of night so as to go undetected (and so they could take advantage of the weakened veil between life and death). There’s not really a “correct” time for the witching hour, considering the concept of a witching hour is mostly a superstition. That’s why you’ll see a lot of variation throughout different folklore and traditions!
History & Folklore of the Witching Hour
The witching hour may stem from the Catholic Church’s fear of witchcraft. In 1535, when a deep fear of witchcraft started becoming more common in Europe, the Catholic church forbid its followers to do any activities between 3 AM and 4 AM, believing it to be the devil’s hour. That’s because, in the Bible, Jesus supposedly died at 3 PM—making 3 AM a mocking inversion of his time of death in the eyes of Christianity. The devil is not necessarily one and the same as witchcraft in legends, but the two are sometimes linked (especially among Christians, who saw witchcraft as unholy). In Christian beliefs, because 3 AM was an inversion of Jesus’s passing, they felt it was the time furthest from holy power—and thus when supernatural influence was strongest.
Midnight is traditionally linked with magic and witchcraft in folklore. Many cultures throughout history have believed that supernatural phenomena are most common at certain times. Midnight, for example, is thought to be the true witching hour by some because it’s the start of a new day. More recently, some even believe the witching hour takes place between 12 AM and 3 AM. Many cultures have superstitions and beliefs on the best ways to ward off witchcraft during the witching hour or what to do at the stroke of midnight. For example, some believe you shouldn’t look in the mirror during the witching hour, as you might see a supernatural entity there (or even your own death). Some believe you shouldn’t answer the door if you hear a knock during the witching hour, as evil spirits may be trying to enter your home. In the folklore of some Scandinavian cultures, an unmarried woman could look into a well at midnight on Midsummer’s Eve and see the face of her future spouse. In the 19th century, Irish poet and folklorist Lady Jane Wilde wrote about Irish love charms and rituals that involved taking a tonic at midnight or visiting graveyards or churches at that hour.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet makes an early allusion to the witching hour. Hamlet, which was written between 1599 and 1601, includes a soliloquy from Hamlet himself stating, “’Tis now the very witching time of night / When churchyards yawn, and hell itself breathes out…” This is one of the first recorded mentions of the witching hour, though it wasn’t regularly mentioned again in literature or history for over a hundred years. In 1762, Elizabeth Carolina Keene published a collection called Miscellaneous Poems, and her poem “Nightmare” mentions the witching hour. In 1775, Rev. Matthew West’s poem “Night, an Ode” also includes a reference to the witching hour. In 1990, American author Anne Rice published The Witching Hour, a book about a family of witches in New Orleans.
Contemporary Meaning of the Witching Hour
The witching hour can be a general term for periods of chaotic activity. In fact, the witching hour doesn’t even really have to happen at night nowadays. People tend to use “the witching hour” as a colloquial phrase for any time when something unpredictable happens, a time when trouble is most likely to occur, or a period of bad luck. Any time of day could be referred to as a witching hour! For example: During infancy, most babies go through a period where they tend to get fussy and start crying for no real reason, often at the same time each day. Parents often describe this as “the witching hour” for their babies. A baby’s “witching hour” often begins around 5 PM and can last until up to 11 PM for some infants, which is quite different from the traditional idea of the witching hour. The last hour of stock trading (between 3 PM and 4 PM) is typically associated with volatile behavior and high activity, which is why some refer to it as “the witching hour.”
What does it mean if you wake up during the witching hour?
Waking up during the witching hour can leave you feeling unsettled. However, that has more to do with your sleep cycles than anything supernatural! Your body goes through different phases during sleep, and around 3 AM is typically when you’re in the middle of REM sleep—the deepest sleep you experience. Thus, being woken up from REM sleep (during “the witching hour”) can leave you feeling disoriented, like something is wrong, even though it’s just your body’s natural reaction. You may have an easier time sleeping through the night if you: Exercise during the day. Use a sleep mask to block out light. Listen to white noise or soothing music. Get on a consistent sleep schedule. Ensure your bedroom is cool and dark. In short, it’s easy to feel like something unnatural or sinister really is happening when you wake up during the witching hour because your body experiences natural discomfort at having REM sleep interrupted. However, tweaking your sleep habits can help you avoid disturbing your precious REM sleep.
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